OUR MISSION

To educate scholars of, and contributors to, a sustainable world, through an interdisciplinary curriculum that emphasizes entrepreneurial thinking and environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

Natalie Baszile is the author of Queen Sugar. The book, now a television series on the Oprah Winfrey Network, was adapted for television by writer/director Ava DuVernay of “Selma” and co-produced by Oprah Winfrey. Queen Sugar was named one of the San Francisco Chronicles’ Best Books of 2014, was long-listed for the Crooks Corner Southern Book Prize, and was nominated for an NAACP Image Award.

Shannon Beets brings twenty years of experience in higher education as a senior administrator and faculty member. Immediately prior to assuming the role of Interim President of the College, Ms. Beets served for three years as Executive Vice President and Provost. She joined Sierra Nevada College in 2006 and has held a variety of positions across key academic areas, including as Vice President for Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness, as Associate Provost, as the Dean of Education for the Teacher Education Department, and as Dean of Enrollment Services.

During her tenure she has worked closely with faculty, the executive leadership, and the Board to create high impact academic programs, measure student learning outcomes, and assess institutional effectiveness. She successfully led the College’s most recent reaccreditation process; and she has launched three successful Master’s degree programs, including the Master of Arts in Education (M.Ed.), and two innovative, low-residency programs: the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Creative Writing and the MFA in Interdisciplinary Art. Most recently she spearheaded development of the College’s Strategic Plan for 2014-2021 through a process that engaged all sectors of the College community, as well as key external stakeholders.

As an innovative educator, she has passionately advocated for active learning, leading and collaborating with SNC faculty to create significant new initiatives to increase high impact practices in the classroom – a distinguishing hallmark of Sierra Nevada College. In addition to her administrative responsibilities and her work in designing innovative curriculum, she continues to teach, both in the landmark freshman year experience course, CORE 101, and in senior level courses in a variety of areas.

Beets is a frequent presenter on academic innovation and student engagement both nationally and internationally, recently representing the College in China during a multi-university tour to collaborate on the teaching of entrepreneurial thinking to Chinese youth. In keeping with her strong commitment to the community, Beets serves as the facilitator for the North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Leadership Program, which trains, informs and engages accomplished professionals throughout the region in preparation for leadership roles in the community.

Laura J. Bennett received her MFA in Photo/Digital Media from the University of Houston and holds two B.A.’s from Humboldt State University in Editorial Journalism and Studio Art. Her work has received numerous national awards, and has been featured in SHOTS magazine, and in the 2nd edition of The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes. Recently, Laura was one of five artists chosen for the NOPA 4×5 photo competition, juried by Steve Simmons, editor of View Camera.

Adam Bigelsen has been playing guitar for over 30 years and teaching music for over 12 years. In college Adam did studies on the effects of Music on learning and stress. As an Elementary school teacher he used Music in the classroom to help facilitate learning with ESL students. He runs his own recording studio and also works with Big Water Studios doing live sound and recording for local bands. Adam has done some soundtrack work and currently has produced over 12 of his own cd’s, playing all the instruments himself. Since living in the Lake Tahoe area, he has performed with several different bands as well as having performed multiple solo gigs. He currently teaches guitar, bass guitar, drums and ukulele at SNC, as well as Rock Music Theory and a semester of Analog/Digital Recording.

Beth Bouchard has twenty-two years of experience in education as a public school classroom teacher, curriculum specialist, elementary school principal, and college and university instructor. Her last position was the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Florida Department of Education. In addition to her administrative duties, Bouchard also teaches in the Teacher Education program.

BA in, “Poetry and Movement: Arts of Expression, Meditation and Healing”, University of Redlands

Gayle Brandeis is the author, most recently, of the memoir The Art of Misdiagnosis: Surviving My Mother’s Suicide (Beacon Press), which Kirkus, in a starred review, calls a “A uniquely graceful, gorgeously written and composed collage of grief, misunderstanding, love, and an attempt at familial closure through art and prose” and the poetry collection The Selfless Bliss of the Body (Finishing Line Books), which former US Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera calls “a monumental achievement.”

Her other books include Fruitflesh: Seeds of Inspiration for Women Who Write (HarperOne), and the novels The Book of Dead Birds (HarperCollins), which won the Bellwether Prize for Fiction of Social Engagement, Self Storage (Ballantine), Delta Girls (Ballantine), and My Life with the Lincolns (Henry Holt), which received a Silver Nautilus Book Award and was chosen as a state-wide read in Wisconsin. Her poetry, essays, and short fiction have been widely published and have received numerous honors, including a Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Award and a Notable Essay in Best American Essays 2016.

Gayle has taught at universities, libraries, community centers and writing conferences around the country. She is a founding member of the Women Creating Peace Collective and served as Inlandia Literary Laureate from 2012-2014.Her essay on the meaning of liberty was one of three included in the Statue of Liberty’s Centennial time capsule in 1986, when she was 18. Currently living in Incline Village, NV, she is mom to two adult children and one preschooler.

Terra Breeden is a writer and educator with a passion for storytelling. She studied English and journalism at Sierra Nevada College and graduated a summa cum laude and was a valedictorian candidate. Breeden co-authored the guidebook Hike Smart, published by Skyhorse Publications in 2017, and has written for Forbes Travel Guide, Tahoe Quarterly Magazine, Lake Tahoe News and Reno News and Review. She is honored to be working with the MFA in Creative Writing program, because it is such an amazing program and community of writers.

Breeden is an outdoor enthusiast that currently lives in South Lake Tahoe. When she isn’t working, she is exploring the wild corners and precipices of the mountains surrounding her home.